The distribution of television signals has increasingly become based on digital methods and digitally encoded forms of video and audio signals. At the same time, higher resolution (high definition TV) has become available in the market place, commensurate with larger and higher definition displays. To meet the requirement of interconnecting such high definition displays with digital signal sources such as Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) players and receivers/decoders for digital satellite and digital cable distribution of video material, a digital interface standard has evolved, known as the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). A detailed specification for HDMI can be obtained from the “hdmi.org” website. The HDMI specification currently available and used in this application is HDMI specification version 1.4a dated Mar. 4, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference.
HDMI cables of various construction may be used for transmitting high speed digital signals from digital signal sources, including, but not limited to, the examples listed above, to digital displays or other equipment designed to receive signals according to the HDMI specification.
A HDMI cable carries not only four high speed differential signals which are shielded, but also a number of lower speed signals, power and ground, the whole being further shielded by an outer braid. The resulting complex cable configuration with numerous wires, some of which are individually shielded, is expensive to manufacture and terminate.
Another standard for connecting video source to a video sink, is published as the DisplayPort standard by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). The latest DisplayPort specification used in this application is DisplayPort v1.2, dated Jan. 5, 2010 which is submitted in the Information Disclosure Statement for this application. The DisplayPort standard specifies a high speed data cable that is intended primarily to be used between a computer and its display monitor or a home-theater system. A cable meeting the DisplayPort standard is very similar to an HDMI cable, the main difference being in the respective physical connectors.
Therefore there is a need in the industry for developing an improved and lower cost high speed cable, which would avoid or mitigate the shortcomings of the prior art and provides significant economies at the same time.